1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of a peptide having the SEQ ID No. 1 for the treatment of viral diseases.
2. Background Information
While a number of effective antibiotics are available for the treatment of diseases caused by bacteria, the treatment of viral diseases is often difficult. In many cases, only vaccination methods if at all, but no effective therapeutic agents are available. The provision of therapeutically active substances which can be administered after a viral infection is of great importance.
Diseases caused by herpes simplex viruses are among the most frequent infectious diseases of the skin. Most infections occur in the face and in the genital region. The disease is caused by an infection with herpes simplex viruses. Frequent variants thereof are herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). HSV-2 is commonly associated with herpes genitalis and HSV-1 commonly with herpes labialis.
Most people become infected with the herpes virus already in their childhood. When herpes breaks out in the adult age, a renewed infection from another person may have occurred, or activation of the “silent” viruses present in one's own body. The first herpes infection mostly involves the formation of small blisters in the oral cavity (gingivostomatitis). If the vagina is afflicted, the infection is called vulvovaginitis, and in the urethra, it is called urethritis. A second or later disease results in herpes labialis (cold sore). A particularly severe form of herpes infection (eczema herpeticatum) may occur in people suffering from neurodermitis.
An overcome episode of herpes infection does not cause immunity. In most cases, there are frequent recurrences of the disease. A satisfactory therapy of herpes infection has not been known to date. Also, to date, no possibility has been found for destroying the virus resting in the body. For this reason, symptoms, such as pain, if any, fever and the inflammations, are treated in a herpes infection. Ointments comprising antivirally active ingredients, such as aciclovir, only shorten the duration of the disease. However, they only have limited influence on the symptomatic course of a herpes infection.